Burnt Mistletoe
by Golden-Owl
Summary: Every year, the Wigglytuff's Guild holds their annual Christmas party, an event which is invite-only and something everyone looks forward too. There's a ton of Christmas-themed havoc going on alongside a bit of Romance under the Mistletoe. -RioluxVulpix-


**Merry Christmas everybody! It's the season of giving, and my gift to you this Christmas is this lovely little fanfic.**

**I always write a story during Christmas season, and since the season is here, I decided to take a break from struggling to come up with a title for my Ace Attorney story and think of what kind of oneshot I want to make this holiday.**

**I eventually settled on a PMD story, though I can't quite remember why. I recall it had something to do with me thinking the idea of Chatot and Loudred being totally drunk and singing carols together would be incredibly funny, and it sort of went on from there...**

**I know the Summary is awful, but apparently making good Summaries isn't one of my strong suits... like Titles. Which reminds me, credit for this Title goes to my friend "**unknown guy 960" **from Mangafox! Without his help, I'd probably be struggling with the name for months.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon Mystery Dungeon or any part of the Pokemon series whatsoever.**

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"'Tis the season to be jolly, falalalala-lalalalah!~"

"Will you stop singing Raven!"

"-Oh, you'd better not shout, you'd better not cry, you'd better shut up 'cause I'm tellin' ya why! Delibird's a-coming to _towwwnnnn!~"_

"Alright! That does it!"

Nearby, a young Vulpix giggled as she watched her two Exploration partners drop the boxes they were carrying and proceed to chase each other through the snow. Needless to say, the Murkrow won out, easily flying out of the young Riolu's reach. "Cheer up a bit Rye! Where's your Christmas Spirit?"

The black crow interrupted as he saw the blue jackal open his mouth, "And don't give us that excuse about you never celebrating Christmas in the future!"

"But it's true!" The Riolu shouted up towards the Murkrow, who proceeded to ignore him and start singing Christmas carols off-key again.

"We know it's true Rye, that's why we want to make this Christmas extra special." Rye glanced behind him to spot the red, 6-tailed fox hanging up some decorations on a little tree.

"I just don't understand it Ember. Pokemon all get together and give each other gifts? There's no big deal about that." Rye replied, going over to help his partner.

"It's not just that. It's a time to show one's generosity and companionship to others, for families and friends to get together, for-"

"-The Guild's awesome Christmas Party!" The Vulpix was interrupted as the Murkrow dive-bombed the other two and landed with a smirk.

"We know about the Guild Party Raven. You've been going on and on about it for ages." Ember replied in a mild tone.

"That's because it's the talk of the town! Invite only, only the top Exploration teams getting in, and we're one of them!" Raven sighed as he leaned against the tree. "Trust me Rye, your gonna love it!"

"Your one to talk! You were barely enjoying yourself last year after Rye..." Ember trailed off as that particular memory resurfaced. The entire Sharpedo Bluff fell silent as they recalled the moment Rye had vanished after saving Temporal Tower.

Raven remembered everything, remembered feeling distraught and depressed as he watched his friend vanish into nothingness. The three of them had come a long way from that Zubat and Koffing had stolen Raven's salary, Ember's Relic Stone and when Rye had helped them get it back.

They decided to form an Exploration Team that day, Team Fortune, ironic considering that one of their members is known for bringing bad luck. Ember named it as she considered herself "fortunate" for having met the other 2.

They worked hard, and the Guild welcomed them with opened arms. They explored and made discoveries and found treasure, and bit by bit they began paying off the Team's startup-cost. As the days passed, the 3 of them found themselves growing closer and closer together as friends.

When the Time Gear incident came up, Raven had panicked. To him, the whole idea of the world ending was unthinkable, unlike other Exploration Team members, the Murkrow was afraid of death. It had taken Ember and Rye several days to calm him down enough to work, and even then he still acted more nervous than usual.

When Dusknoir dragged the 3 of them into the future...everyone's emotions were all over the place. Ember and Raven nearly outright gave up, and would've just resigned themselves to their fate if Rye hadn't stepped in. They fought their way back to the past with Grovyle, and eventually made it to the Hidden Land in time to stop Dialga from completely losing it. It did come at a great cost, Grovyle was pulled back into the future by Dusknoir, and Rye had...well...

The next few months after were a constant blur to Ember and Raven, the pair were either telling Rye's story or too busy feeling depressed to do anything. Team Fortune's activities and successful jobs slowed down to a snail's pace after their leader disappeared.

Raven felt little enthusiasm for treasure hunting after Rye vanished, and he often wound up perching on a rock and moping about. Ember took it even harder, often breaking down in tears at the very mention of the Riolu's name and rarely leaving her room.

When Rye came back, it was as if a dark cloud had been lifted over Ember and Raven. They became cheerful again and started taking on jobs with enthusiasm, it was as though their will to live had returned along with their friend.

"Err..." Both the Vulpix and Murkrow snapped back to the present as their leader spoke up. "So just what are we supposed to do during Christmas again?"

"R-right!" Ember replied, eager to tide over the awkward moment. "Christmas is a time when we basically be nice to one another on the overall. Don't be mean, apologize if you do anything wrong-"

"Don't worry too much about how it works Rye, the important thing is to just enjoy yourself. Go to the party, relax a bit, sing some carols, open a few presents, drink some of Chimecho's Christmas ale, get Ember under the mistletoe-" The Murkrow got no furthur as he was immediately tackled to the ground by a furiously blushing Vulpix.

"What's mistletoe?" Rye asked, raising his eyebrows at his friends odd behavior.

"It's-" Raven was cut off once more as Ember quickly clamped her paws over his beak. "Nothing! Nothing at all!"

"Err...d'you mind hanging the decorations by yourself for a bit Rye? Raven and I need to have a little _chat_." With muffled protests from the Murkrow, Ember forcefully pulled Raven back down into the cavern under the Bluff.

Rye sweatdropped slightly as he watched the scene unfold. "Note to self..." He muttered at no one in particular as he picked up the dropped boxes. "Learn meaning of the word 'mistletoe'...

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"What was that all about Raven!" Ember angrily let go of the Murkrow, but not before burning off a few of his feathers.

"What? Don't deny it, you like him don't you?" Raven retorted, dusting himself off and running a wing through his damaged black plumage. He grinned in triumph as he saw the blush that Ember's red fur failed to completely hide.

"H-how did you-?" The Vulpix's surprise was cut off as Raven raised a wing.

"I saw how you looked after he came back. You seemed all dead when Rye vanished, but when he appeared back on the beach you looked like you got to celebrate all your birthdays at once or something."

"What kind of reasoning is that?" Ember asked in an annoyed tone. "Anyone would be happy to have their best friend back, you were pretty cheerful too!"

"Yeah well at least I don't stare at my best friend with that sappy, lovestruck look." Raven shot back, pointing a wing for added emphasis. "You've worn that look on your face for the first few days after Rye came back, I couldn't not recognize it since it was similar to the one I saw Celebi give Grovyle once."

"I-" Ember's reply was cut off by Raven's wing. "Face it Em, you like him. And I don't mean just as a friend."

"..." The Vulpix sat down on the floor in defeat. "Yeah, your right. I guess I've always had this little crush on him, but I didn't really know how much he meant to me until he-"

"-vanished." Raven completed the sentence for her, lapsing into silence again briefly before continuing. "Well why don't you just tell Rye that you like him?"

Ember gave a sad laugh, "Raven, it's not as easy as you think. You don't just go up to someone and say you love him, that'd be just... awkward and weird and-"

"-Awkweird?" The Murkrow guessed aloud with a grin and immediately got hit on the head. "_Pain_!"

"This is serious!" The normally cheerful fox Pokemon scowled at Raven as he rubbed his sore head.

"Well if you can't tell him, then why don't you make him fall in love with you instead?" The Murkrow suggested.

Ember shook her head. "He used to be a human remember? He probably still thinks like one, and there's no way a human can fall in love with a Pokemon..."

Raven scoffed, standing up and heading for the exit. "He's been a Riolu for nearly 2 years now, he fights like a Pokemon, acts like a Pokemon, not to mention he's lost nearly all of his memory as a human."

Ember fell silent as she processed this information. Raven rolled his eyes. "I'm going to go help your little crush out with the tree. Just remember that if you don't tell him, he'll probably end up meeting some other cute girl from another Exploration Team."

"Heck, maybe he'll get himself his first kiss at the party tonight. Those Guild Parties can get pretty wild." Raven was immediately sent sprawling by one of Ember's Flame Wheel strikes. "_More pain!" _The Dark-Type cried out as he rapidly hastened his exit.

Ember sighed as she thought over her partner's advice. Raven did bring up some valid points she never thought of before, such as Rye losing his memory of being a human. He probably considers himself to be an actual Pokemon by now.

Still, what if Rye would just flat out reject her? Or worse, what if they eventually just broke up, would they're friendship survive it? Could Team Fortune be able to continue functioning with such a tense relationship between 2 of their members?

Ember shuddered at the thought of the Exploration Team splitting up and all three members going their separate ways. No, that was something she couldn't risk happening!

But what if she didn't risk it? Immediately, the image of the Riolu kissing another Pokemon came to her mind. "No no no!" Ember shook her head, intending to clear out the mental picture. She couldn't possibly let that happen either!

The young Vulpix sighed and sat down on her bed, staring absentmindedly around their Base as the sound of Raven and Rye's fighting came down. They had decorated the place with as much Christmas cheer as they could; strands of holly were hung around the walls, colorful Ribbons dangled from the ceilings and Raven managed to procure a large metal Star which lights up if an Electric Pokemon touched it. Not to mention they were attempting to decorate a small tree which was planted nearby upstairs.

Ember took in none of their festive efforts to spruce up the place, her thoughts were centered completely around the Riolu upstairs. Maybe if she just pretended she never fell for him, everything would just go away?

"Yeah right..." Ember muttered to herself as she picked herself up and climbed up the stairs. This whole love issue could be settled at a later date. Like Raven said, Christmas is a time to enjoy yourself and just relax.

Ember had already suffered a miserable Guild Party once, and she is determined that a crush on her partner won't result in her having another.

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**Seems I won't be able to finish this story in time for Christmas after all. My mum is partially to blame for that since she's fully convinced I'm addicted to computer games and literally locked up the laptop... Well, at least she's convinced I'm occupied with gaming and not writing, it'd be a total disaster if she found out I write Fanfiction.**

**I'm quite happy with the length of this story. Four pages ain't half bad.**

**Anyways, stay tuned for the other half of this story. It may take a while since I haven't quite thought out what sort of insane antics the Guild Pokemon will be getting up to. You can send over a couple suggestions in your reviews if you'd like.**


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